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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Rookie defenseman Eric Gelinas will be back in the Devils' lineup tonight when they take on the Dallas Stars at Prudential Center as head coach Pete DeBoer said the team will dress seven defensemen.

DeBoer said Andrei Loktionov will come out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. Right wing Cam Janssen will also be a healthy scratch.

The Devils' only other lineup change will be Cory Schneider starting in net.

When I asked DeBoer if Gelinas will play forward, he replied, "I don’t know that yet. We haven’t decided.”

The coaching staff had discussed that possibility with Gelinas before the team's Dec. 28 game against the Islanders, but ended up not doing it that night with Anton Volcnenkov missing the game due to injury.

When I asked Gelinas after today's optional morning skate what position he'll play tonight, he said. "Defense, I think."

"They haven't talk to me about playing forward, so I don't know what the plan is besides that," Gelinas said. "All I know is I'm ready to play and want to bounce back."

Gelinas, 22, said the last time he played forward was when he was 15. He doesn't think it would be a difficult adjustment if he was asked to play up front tonight.

I’ve played forward before in my career, so it wouldn’t be that bad, I guess,” he said.

Gelinas has sat out the last two games. He was assigned to Albany before Saturday's 2-1 loss in Buffalo, but never actually went there as the team decided to recall him on Monday. Then, he sat out Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia as a healthy scratch.

DeBoer admitted dressing seven defensemen isn't "ideal", but said the coaching staff wanted to get Gelinas back in and felt none of the six defensemen who played Tuesday deserved to come out of the lineup.

“It’s not the ideal situation, but we think it’s the best lineup we can roll out there tonight,” DeBoer said.

Gelinas is tied for second among rookie defensemen with 16 points (four goals, 12 assists). By his own admission, however, Gelinas’ play had dropped off in the last two weeks. He had struggled in his own end and gone six consecutive games without a point before picking up an assist on Marek Zidlicky’s power-play goal in the third period of last Friday’s 5-3 loss to Chicago.

He’s hoping to get back tonight to playing the way he was when he was first called up on Oct. 23.

“I just want to get back to where I was and fix the little things I’ve been doing wrong here in the past couple of games,” he said. “It’s a bounce back from my personal standpoint, but it wasn’t like I’ve been really struggling pretty bad. I just that I want to play well.”

One thing Gelinas knows for sure; he didn’t enjoy watching the last two games from the press box.

“I think the positive thing is it’s really boring to be in the stands and I just want to get back to it and try to not get out of the lineup,” he said. “I think I felt that and I want to play hockey. It’s not fun to watch. It’s fun to play. It’s just a good reality check too to be sitting out and I think that’s a positive thing."

Although it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster being sent down – but never really going anywhere – and then being called back up two days later, Gelinas said that’s not something he can let impact him. He's just happy he's back on the roster and playing tonight.

“It’s nothing in my control and whatever happens, happens and all I have to do is get ready for when I’m in the lineup. That’s what I’m looking forward to doing tonight.”

When asked what areas he needs to improve, Gelinas said, “Just being sharper defensively and just a little mental stuff just to be sharp for 60 minutes.

“One thing I’ve noticed is the more games I’ve played the teams have adjusted to that I’m a shooting defenseman, so I guess they’re trying to take that away," he said. "So, I had less chances offensively. And I think one thing I was doing wrong is I was trying to create something and make it happen, so I was trying to do too much and I think I just need to stay simple and the chances will come. Just being sharp defensively, you’ll stay less time in your own zone, so I think that’s what I need to focus on.”

***Travis Zajac's "personal day" Wednesday turned out to be for his wife, Nicole, to give birth to the couple's second child, a daughter they named Veronika. Their son, Zenon, was born two years ago.

Zajac will be in the lineup tonight after missing Wednesday's practice to be there for Veronika's arrival.

Zajac received more than a little ribbing that his baby was born the same day former teammate and linemate Zach Parise's wife, Alisha, gave birth to twins, Jaxson and Emelia.

***Anthony Brodeur, the Devils' 2013 seventh-round draft pick, posted his first career shutout Wednesday, making 21 saves in Gatineau's 5-0 win over Chicoutimi.

About

TOM GULITTI has covered the New Jersey Devils for The Record since 2002. Prior to that, he covered the New York Rangers for four years. Gulitti joined The Record in 1998 after six years at The North Jersey Herald News. He graduated from Binghamton University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric-Literature.